Dare is an English rock band from Oldham, fronted by former Thin Lizzy keyboard player Darren Wharton.

Their most recent album was originally due to be released in 2019, although it was later delayed with Road to Eden announced by the band in January 2022.

[1] Dare was formed in 1985 by former Thin Lizzy keyboard player Darren Wharton after Phil Lynott had dissolved the band.

[3] The lineup consisted of Darren Wharton (vocals/keyboards), Vinny Burns (guitars), Martin "Shelley" Shelton (bass), James Ross (drums), and Brian Cox (keyboards).

The follow-up album Blood from Stone was released in 1991,[2] by which time Nigel Clutterbuck had replaced Shelton on bass and Greg Morgan was on drums.

Showcasing a much harder edge than the band's debut, the album was produced in Los Angeles by sound engineer Keith Olsen.

[3] Wharton has since commented negatively about the change in style, stating that while he is "very proud of that album,...we should have stuck to our guns musically and not try and jump on the heavy metal band wagon."

[2] By that time, Vinny Burns, Brian Cox and Nigel Clutterbuck had departed; instead the band consisted of Andrew Moore on guitars, Martin Wilding on bass, and Julian Gardner on drums with "additional musicians" Kevin Whitehead on drums and Richard Dews on acoustic guitar and backing vocals.

You know, I spent my early career with Thin Lizzy, so that rubbed off me a great deal, working with Phil Lynott and Scott Gorham.

In 2008 Belief and Beneath the Shining Water were released as a double CD though Warner Music/ADA in the U.S.;[3] this edition again featured a bonus track, a re-recording of the Blood from Stone song "Real Love".

Dews had left the band by this time, leaving Burns as their sole guitarist once more, while Nigel Clutterbuck had also returned on bass.

The album topped the Amazon Rock Charts in the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy, and received predominantly positive reviews, albeit usually genre-specific.

The summation concludes, "there are no fillers here – 11 great tracks of keyboard and guitar framed music; this is a wonderful album that takes a step back from the Celtic influences of recent times and a huge step back towards straight ahead moody AOR".

Much like Calm Before the Storm 2 before it, the album is a complete re-recording of the original with the band's current lineup, and features a special extended version of their song "King of Spades" incorporating the instrumental section from Thin Lizzy's "Róisín Dubh: A Rock Legend", in tribute to Phil Lynott.

On 30 November 2018, Dare announced initial European tour details for 2019, which by 6 January 2019 had expanded to 22 dates in Belgium, Germany, Holland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

In a Christmas wishes post to fans on Dare's official Facebook page, on 24 December 2020 Wharton commented that the band would "hopefully see you all next year [2021] with our brand new album".

[13] On 25 August 2021, on Dare's official Facebook page, a Christmas headline show at Holmfirth Picturedrome (4 December) was announced.

[14] The latest Dare album, Road to Eden, was finally announced by the band on 10 January 2022, with a release date by Legend Records of 1 April 2022.

[15] The lineup for the album remained unchanged from the preceding releases, consisting of Wharton, Burns, Whitehead and Clutterbuck, with Marc Roberts once again handling keyboard duties on the supporting tour.

Additionally, on 17 June Darren and Vinny Burns and Nigel Clutterbuck did an evening of the very best of Dare, unplugged, at the Barnoldswick Music and Arts Center, and on Thursday 16th and Friday 17 November repeated the show over two nights.